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Soy and legumes from Qianxi and Dafang, Guizhou

Chenjiao douchi ba (cellar-aged douchi cakes, Guizhou)陈窖豆豉粑

Chenjiao douchi ba are fermented soybean cakes from Qianxi and Dafang in Guizhou, made by traditional methods and ripened for a long time in a cellar. Qianxi cakes are fermented by Bacillus, Dafang cakes by Mucor moulds and bacteria together. They are eaten as an appetizer.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Chenjiao douchi ba itself. Its own sources do not record how it is made, so the steps and scenes below are those of Shuidouchi (water douchi; natto-like Chinese douchi), the closest documented soy and legumes ferment, shown as a guide to the method, not as a record of Chenjiao douchi ba.

Short entrySoy and legumes

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
soybeans
shaped into cakes
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the steps of Shuidouchi (water douchi; natto-like Chinese douchi): 9.5 days – 18 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
Close-up: water moving into a bean

What changes: Yellow soybeans soak overnight and swell

Step 1 of 4 · steps of Shuidouchi (water douchi; natto-like Chinese douchi)
Wash and soak the soybeans
Time
12 h
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus

Output: soaked beans.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Chenjiao douchi ba are fermented soybean cakes from Qianxi and Dafang in Guizhou, made by traditional methods and ripened for a long time in a cellar. Qianxi cakes are fermented by Bacillus, Dafang cakes by Mucor moulds and bacteria together. They are eaten as an appetizer. Qianxi: Bacillus pantothenticus, B. alvei and B. firmus and Dafang: Mucor javanicus, M. rouxianus and M. racemosus with B. firmus and Gram-positive non-sporing rods do most of the fermenting.

What makes this one different

Unlike loose douchi, the beans are made into cakes and ripened in a cellar, and the two counties use different fermenters, Bacillus in Qianxi and Mucor with Bacillus in Dafang.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Qianxi typeBacterial (Bacillus) fermentation.
  • Dafang typeMixed Mucor and Bacillus fermentation.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Studied in the mid-2000s by Qin and co-workers, who screened 12 Bacillus strains from 40 isolates as candidate pure starters.

  1. [Qin2006] Qin L.K., Zeng H.Y., Ding X.L. 2006, 陈窖豆豉粑传统工艺剖析及优势菌群鉴定 (Study on traditional household methods and identification of dominant microflora for processing long-ripened douchiba), Food Science (食品科学) 27(6):118 (abstract)paper
  2. [Qin2006b] Qin L.K., Zeng H.Y., Ding X.L. 2006, 陈窖豆豉粑益酵菌株筛选 (Selection of fermentative strains for long-ripened douchiba), Food Science (食品科学) 27(11):77 (abstract)paper
  3. [Qin2005] Qin L.K., Ding X.L. 2005, 传统陈窖豆豉粑和霉菌型豆豉挥发性风味化合物研究 (Volatile flavour compounds in long-ripened douchiba and mould-fermented douchi), Food Science (食品科学) 26(8):275 (abstract)paper